A woman was been taken to hospital after being injured at the north-east election count.
Staff at P&J Live, where votes from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are being counted, have been seen changing out all the chairs in the hall.
It comes after a woman injured her hand after catching a finger in a folding chair.
She was taken to hospital for treatment as a precaution, it is understood.
The incident happened just as counting began at around 9am.
Aberdeen’s returning officer, Fraser Bell, did warn those involved in the count to be careful with the folding chairs, which expose sharp metal undersides if those seated stand up.
Fraser Bell, Aberdeen returning officer, warning colleagues over the PA to be careful when getting in and out of chairs on the counting floor. They are foldy ones but I’ve not witnessed any pew-related carnage. #ElectionHub
— Alastair Gossip (@AlastairGossip) May 7, 2021
Since then, sources from a number of political parties have contacted us to tell us about the “gory sounding” incident.
In response to a tweet detailing the safety warning, one man told us: “It happened near the start of the count and she’s off to hospital.”
Another told us: “The woman sat on the chair and trapped her finger.
“It was someone counting votes apparently.
“It sounded gory.”
A P&J Live spokeswoman said: “I can confirm that a member of the election count staff did injure her finger this morning at P&J Live, the accident occurred while taking to her seat.
“The individual has been taken to hospital to be checked out.”
Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils have offered no comment on the incident.